Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
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Complete guide
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a powerful legendary land that serves as the centerpiece for decks focusing on a single color. By rewarding you for the number of mana symbols in the costs of your permanents, it can generate a massive mana advantage in the mid to late game. Whether you are playing Mono-Green Stompy or Mono-Black Devotion, understanding how to maximize your devotion is key.
Harnessing the Power of Devotion
Nykthos provides two mana options. The first is a simple tap for colorless mana, ensuring the land is useful even on an empty board. The second ability costs two mana and tapping Nykthos to add mana of a chosen color equal to your devotion to that color. Your devotion is calculated by counting every mana symbol of that specific color appearing in the mana costs of permanents you currently control on the battlefield.
Resolution and Mana Ability Rules
The activated ability of Nykthos is a mana ability, meaning it does not use the stack and cannot be responded to by opponents. When you activate it, you choose a color and immediately add the mana to your pool. If a permanent has a hybrid symbol like Blue/Green, it counts toward your devotion for both Blue and Green. However, remember that Nykthos itself has no mana symbols in its cost, so it contributes zero to your devotion count.
Common Misconceptions
A common mistake is trying to count mana symbols found in the text boxes of cards, such as activated abilities or reminder text; only symbols in the upper right-hand corner (the mana cost) count. Additionally, numeric symbols like {2} or {X} do not contribute to devotion. Tokens usually have a mana cost of zero and do not contribute to devotion unless they are copies of a permanent with a mana cost.
Interaction examples
If you control three Forest cards and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, you can tap Nykthos for its first ability to add {C}. However, since the Forests have no mana symbols in their mana costs, your devotion to Green is zero. Using the second ability would cost {2} and result in adding zero Green mana, making the first ability the better choice here.
Command Tower
Exotic OrchardSuppose you are in a Commander game. You have Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Command Tower, and Exotic Orchard on the battlefield, along with several high-devotion creatures. You can tap Command Tower and Exotic Orchard to produce the {2} required to activate Nykthos's second ability. This allows you to convert the generic mana from your other utility lands into a large burst of a specific color of mana based on your board state.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The second ability is a mana ability. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Numeric mana symbols (
, 
, and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Mana symbols in the text boxes of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Hybrid mana symbols, monocolored hybrid mana symbols, and Phyrexian mana symbols do count toward your devotion to their color(s).
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If an activated ability or triggered ability has an effect that depends on your devotion to a color, you count the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control as the ability resolves. The permanent with that ability will be counted if it's still on the battlefield at that time.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Argothian Elder + Wirewood Lodge + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos by paying and tapping it, adding at least
. - 2Activate Argothian Elder by tapping it, untapping Nykthos and Wirewood Lodge.
- 3Activate Wirewood Lodge by paying and tapping it, untapping Argothian Elder.
- 4Repeat.
Rings of Brighthearth + Deserted Temple + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx by paying and tapping it, adding at least
- 2Activate Deserted Temple's second ability by paying and tapping it, targeting Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.
- 3Rings of Brighthearth triggers, causing you to pay to copy Deserted Temple's ability, targeting Deserted Temple.
- 4Resolve both Deserted Temple abilities, untapping Deserted Temple and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 5Repeat
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild + Hope Tender + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos' second ability by paying and tapping it, adding at least .
- 2Activate Hope Tender's second ability by paying , tapping and exerting it, untapping Hope Tender and Nykthos.
- 3Repeat.
Kitsa, Otterball Elite + Frantic Search + Minamo, School at Water's Edge + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos and up to one other land by paying and tapping them, adding at least
. - 2Cast Frantic Search by paying .
- 3Kitsa's prowess ability triggers, giving it +1/+1 until end of turn.
- 4Holding priority, activate Kitsa's second ability by paying and tapping it, copying Frantic Search.
- 5Resolve the copy of Frantic Search, causing you to loot twice and untap Minamo, Nykthos and up to one other land.
- 6Activate Nykthos and up to one other land by paying and tapping them, adding at least .
- 7Activate Minamo's second ability by paying and tapping it, untapping Kitsa.
- 8Repeat from step 4.
Magus of the Candelabra + Maze of Ith + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Declare Magus of the Candelabra as an attacker.
- 2Holding priority, activate Maze of Ith by tapping it, untapping Magus of the Candelabra and preventing all damage done to, and dealt by, it this turn.
- 3Activate Nykthos' second ability by paying and tapping it, adding at least .
- 4Activate Magus of the Candelabra by paying and tapping it, untapping Maze of Ith and Nykthos.
- 5Repeat from step 2.
Silvanus's Invoker + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos' second ability by paying and tapping it, causing you to add eleven mana of any color with which you have devotion.
- 2Activate Silvanus's Invoker by paying
, causing Nykthos to become an 8/8 Elemental with haste until end of turn, and untapping it. - 3Repeat.
Formidable Speaker + Wirewood Lodge + Magus of the Candelabra + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx by paying and tapping it, adding at least seven .
- 2Activate Magus of the Candelabra by paying and tapping it, untapping Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Wirewood Lodge.
- 3Activate Wirewood Lodge's second ability by paying and tapping it, untapping Formidable Speaker.
- 4Activate Formidable Speaker by paying and tapping it, untapping Magus of the Candelabra.
- 5Repeat.
Wakeroot Elemental + Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
- 1Activate Nykthos by paying and tapping it, adding at least eight .
- 2Activate Wakeroot Elemental by paying , untapping Nykthos and causing it to become a 5/5 Elemental creature with haste until end of turn that is still a land.
- 3Repeat.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
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